


Scars

by kirabook



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 09:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19788466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirabook/pseuds/kirabook
Summary: Every scar has a story, a conversation, and a barrier to break. Who knew all it took was discovering Will's secrets and a small bike accident.





	Scars

_“With what money Mom? We can’t move!” Jonathan yelled. He turned toward a wall, hiding his tears._

_“It’s not safe after all that’s happened. It’s not stable here,” Joyce explained. She did not hide her tears from them. “You don’t have a job, soon I won’t either.” Joyce turned toward her, and then to Will. “It’s not safe for us here. I’ve already saved the money-”_

_“There are no more Russians. Dr. Owens isn’t-”_

_“And what about a few months from now, Jonathan? Or next year? Or the year after that? How many times are we going to through this?”_

_Jonathan sucked in air and ran a hand through his messy hair. He did not have an answer._

_“I know you love them.” Joyce whispered. “But we have to go. This place… it is still healing. Every second we stay is tempting fate. It’s not safe. And I can’t do this alone.”_

_“Mom... you have me. You have us. And them.” Jonathan tried. Joyce shook her head, a sad smile spreading on her lips._

_“We’re not enough.”_

* * *

* * *

El switched pants for the third time. The others were fine… just not long enough.

El folded the previous pairs and set it on her bed. She spun to face the full-length mirror leaning against her wall. The previous owners left it here along with an old vanity. Joyce offered to throw them out, but El liked them. Jonathan and Will shared the room next to hers while Joyce claimed a room across the house. 

The new house resembled the old one in size. The walls and the floors looked newer than the old house. The outside had a new coat of paint. A light blue color with white trim and grey roof. The newest feature that excited everyone was the garage. Right now it contained boxes of all their stuff, but it could fit both their cars once emptied. Despite the miles between the new house and Hawkins… she liked it. 

Moving here created a lot of stress and sadness. Jonathan and Joyce bickered sometimes, but when one of them abruptly burst into tears, all tensions ceased. Frustrations aside, all of them were on the same team, working to make this place their new home. 

Home….

El shook her head, straightening out her pants leg one last time. That’s right. Home. This place IS home now.

“Ready?”

El’s focus shifted from her pants to the mirror. Will’s reflection peered back at her from the door. She turned toward him and nodded. 

Today, they would make their mark on this town. Rather, SHE would make her mark on the town. Will already did with his new underground dog walking operation.

* * *

* * *

Jonathan and Joyce weren’t home much. They both took on new jobs plus all the other necessary errands when moving to a new place. New driving licenses, car tags, phone numbers, furniture, food. 

New faces. No one in this place knew them, which presented new opportunities. 

Will spent weeks begging Joyce for permission to work, but she refused multiple times. At some point, Will stopped asking and never brought the topic up again. Joyce and Jonathan worked as usual, leaving her and Will home alone… until recently. 

Every weekend and after school, Will went missing. Joyce and Jonathan didn’t notice, he always returned right before they got home. But El noticed. Curiosity ate at her, so one day she asked what he was up to.

“Not much,” he answered. “Just… talking walks.”

A lie, she thought. She wanted a real answer, but confronting Will isn’t as simple as confronting Mike or her other friends. Will was… different. A puzzle she hadn’t figured out yet. 

_“Will doesn’t lie,”_ Mike informed her through her radio. _“He… avoids things. I guess lies by omission? BUT, he doesn’t lie outright.”_

She wished Mike would help her solve the puzzle named Will Byers, but his suggestions didn’t bring her any closer to her goal. So, she decided to do it on her own. 

Spying on Will would be easy, even without powers.. she hoped. The easiest method and time would be on the weekend. She had time to wait and follow him after he leaves on his mysterious “walks”. 

Just as planned, Will announced his departure, grabbed his backpack, and biked down their driveway onto the street. She waited until he was almost out of sight to follow. Will travelled well beyond their neighborhood into the better populated side of town. The richer side of town.

What was he doing here…? Why did he desire to “walk” here? El pulled over and crouched behind a tree when Will stopped a distance ahead of her. He parked his bike inside a fence and retrieved an unusually long rope from his backpack.

Will walked up to an elegant house and rang the doorbell. The house reminded her a lot of Mike’s. Lots of windows and an unusually green lawn in the winter. An older woman answered the door and beamed at him. They were too distant for El to overhear the conversation, but Will smiled and nodded, responding to whatever she must have asked.

In the blink of an eye, Will dropped to the floor. El panicked for a moment, unsure of what happened and prepared to step in. She halted mid-step and all tension in her shoulders eased. 

There were three large golden dogs on top of Will, licking his face and hands. Will giggled, begging the dogs to stop. It’d been a while since he laughed like that. 

The woman chuckled and clicked her fingers until the dogs allowed Will to get on his feet. El smiled, watching Will tie the ropes he pulled out beforehand. He and the woman waved at each other as Will turned away and walked on down the street. He stopped at another house with similar results. This time, Will remained on his feet. He visited one last residence and gained one last dog. The whole pack walked until she didn’t see them anymore.

Will… didn’t lie. He walks. He actually walks. With dogs.

El waited for what felt like forever until Will came back. Will looked sweaty, but pleased. He returned to each home and returned each dog. When he reached the final house, El witnessed the purpose of these walks. The reward. The older woman took out her pocketbook and gave Will money. A smile on Will’s face spread wider. Although she couldn’t hear him, his lips read, _‘Thank you.’_

Will got a job. Not a job like Joyce and Jonathan, but something. A walking job. A job… walking dogs. She didn’t know a job like that existed. 

El waited until Will got close to his bike to expose herself. Will jumped when she strode out.

“Wha…. what are you doing here?” 

“I came to see,” she answered.

“See what?”

“Your secret walk.” 

“Wha-”

“If I walk too, we get double the reward,” she interrupted. “You walk for money in secret. I’ll keep it a secret and walk with you.” Will’s face shifted between confusion and surprise. Silence stretched for what felt like forever. Why hadn’t he responded yet?

“... Have you ever walked a dog?” He asked, finally. That wasn’t the reply she expected. Wasn’t he upset she followed him? She hoped he wouldn’t be, but she expected… something? El frowned. 

“No.” No, she never walked a dog, but refused to take no for an answer. Will’s secret would be her secret too. She didn’t understand all the financial woes of her new family, but they needed money, so she would get the money. Just like Will. She started to plead her case, but Will spoke again.

“You can come next time, I guess. But I’m done for today.”

“... Oh.”

* * *

* * *

El held Will’s shoulders as they approached the richer neighborhoods. Although the chill from the wind did not reach beyond her coat, her gloveless hands ached from the cold. It reminded her of times she’d rather forget. She bore her fingers into Will’s shoulders, causing him to flinch.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” she released her grip and apologetically rubbed his shoulders.

“Are you ok?” He asked, lifting his head to see her face leaning over his. He looked so worried, like Joyce. “Are you cold?” 

Will Byers. A soft-spoken guy. Likes video games and pancakes. Great in school, unlike her. A worry wart, like his mom and big brother. 

She thought she knew Will. It wasn’t until the summer that she realized… she didn’t know him at all. She felt close to him. Connected. They were alike in so many ways… yet there was a wall between them. 

Will rarely struck up a conversation with her. Or invite her to play games. Or walk home with her after school. Or talk to her at the breakfast and dinner table. But, he asked her what she wanted to eat for dinner. Or ask if she needed help with her homework. Or worried if she were cold while riding the back of his bike.

How can someone be so close and yet so far? She didn’t understand him, but she wanted to. Now, strangely enough, she had a lot of time to figure him out.

“Watch it you stupid kid!”

They looked at the sidewalk just in time to see an elderly man only feet away from Will’s oncoming bike. Will swerved. He successfully evaded the man, but sent them tumbling down a small hill into someone’s lawn.

El sat up, returning the old man’s glare as walked passed their bicycle accident without offering any help. She’d love to trip him up and send him sliding on the ice right on his butt. El sighed and looked to her side. Will laid on his back staring at the sky. 

“… You ok?” she inquired, concerned.

“Yeah. Just… admiring the sky… and a little embarrassed.” 

“… Embarrassed?” 

“I haven’t fallen off my bike in a while. It always sucks.”

“Oh.” El waited for Will to sit up. When he didn’t, she joined him. There weren’t any clouds to watch, just the empty blue winter sky. What was he staring at? What is she missing? “… Are we still going to walk the dogs?”

“Yeah. Just need a minute.”

“Oh, ok.” 

Time passed by until finally, Will sat upright and stretched.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.” She wasn’t sure why they needed to gaze at the sky… it was nice. Refreshing. She sat up too.

“Um…” 

“Hm?” El glanced at Will, but he wasn’t looking at her. Rather, he wasn’t looking at her face. She followed his gaze to her leg, her torn pants leg. The bike must have caught her pants, tearing it and revealing her skin underneath. The leg where that monster bit her, leaving behind a creature squirming inside. Panicked, El tried to draw the torn edges together with no success. 

“Does it hurt??” Will got on his knees, expecting to find a wound or scratch. El pulled her leg under her, refusing to let him see.

“No.”

“Are you sure??”

“Yes.”

“… Can I make sure?” 

“No.” 

Will hesitated, then sat next to her. Once again, they fell into a somewhat more awkward silence. El kept her focus on the blue winter sky, though Will peered at her from the corner of his eye.

“You don’t want me to see it right? The scar?” 

El’s eyes widened as she turned to meet Will’s. He didn’t meet her eyes often, his eyes were usually focused on something or someone else. Will’s eyes were unique to him. Mike’s were brown. Hopper and Max’s were blue. Joyce’s were brown, but lighter than Mike’s. They reminded her of her own eyes. 

Will’s were… green. Green with a little brown… but mostly green. 

“It’s a hideous scar. Deep. Brings back bad memories whenever you look at it? Makes you nervous when others see?”

El released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Did he read her mind?

“… I have one too,” he said. 

“… You do?”

“Yeah. That night, when mom forced the Mind Flayer out of me… and you closed the gate? I got it that night.”

“… How?”

Will shrugged, “I’m not sure. I woke up with it. It’s a burn mark so… they must have needed to do it to get him out or something.” His voice dropped to a whisper, but El listened. Will finally opened up to her. He was speaking to her about something other than school or breakfast or dinner. 

“… Where?” Will hesitated. Did she make a mistake? Move too fast? Would he withdraw again? 

Will silenced her fears as he reached for his thick jacket and pulled. He pulled harder to untuck the shirt underneath from his pants revealing his secret. He had an awful burn on his side. The scar looked smooth and slightly raised. The wound was old, but age didn’t make it any prettier. El grimaced.

“It used to look much worse.” He smirked with a short laugh. “Way worse. It hurt a lot.” Unable to help herself, El prodded the scar with her finger. She withdrew with Will shivered and pulled down his coat. 

“I-I’m sorry. Does it still hurt??”

“No no. Your hands are freezing.” Will removed his gloves. “We’ve been in the cold for a while. We should get going. Unless you want to go back home because of your pants?” Will offered her his gloves. “If you want to stay… to walk the dogs, we’ll just take turns?” Will waited for an answer or for El to take the gloves, but she didn’t. “… Do you want them?”

“Yes.” El took the gloves and slipped them on her hands. The insides were still warm. Will stood and offered a hand to help her up. She accepted. Neither got back on the bike, choosing to walk the rest of the way.

They didn’t speak much as they walked side by side. For once, El was thankful for the silence between them. Gave her time to think. 

All this time she wondered how to talk to Will and become closer to him. Will showed his deepest scar to her on this cold winter day and she didn’t even ask. Maybe the barrier she imagined was simply her imagination?

“… The scar it reminds me of… everything. It all comes back to me in flashes… I can’t stop them.” El confessed. She hadn’t talked to anyone about the scar. Not even Mike. She hid the ugly thing under her pants and forget she had it. Will hummed and nodded, taking his time before speaking again.

“… Mom… she can fix your pants. Something to cover your leg too?”

“Cover my leg? Like what?”

“I don’t know… long socks? If she can make socks… We can buy some socks and decorate them ourselves?”

“… Isn’t that… hiding the pain?” Will stopped in his tracks. For a second, he could not hide his expression. A fearful one. Or sad. He was still hiding his scar just like her, El realized. Tucking in his shirt wasn’t a fashion statement. 

El’s scar ran deep. She looked at it every day and remembered the searing pain when Jonathan cut the skin to extract the monster squirming underneath. How deep did Will’s run? He received a scar while something else controlled his body like a puppet.

“It’s… ok to hide until you’re ready to face it.” El stepped closer, clutching his shoulder. “Before this scar… I had a different wound. A deep one. I hid from it. Ran away from it. As far away as I could. But… someone told me you can’t outrun scars. I don’t like this scar… but it will get better. Yours will too.”

Will listened, focused on her and her words. For the first time, El wondered if Will wanted to talk to her as much as she wanted to talk to him. Will must be as puzzled by her as she is by him. 

Maybe he wasn’t mad she discovered his secret because he wanted her to tag along? Did he ask what she wanted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because he wanted to strike up a conversation? Or offered to help with homework to get to know her? Awkward friends that sucked at talking to one another. It reminded her of a tv show, could be a comedy. 

Even if her assumptions about his intentions weren’t correct, she believed it. 

“Right… right.” Will continued walking, letting El’s hand slip from his shoulder.

“… We both will get better.” El insisted, following at his accelerated pace. He didn’t reply at first, but the corner of his mouth curved up and his eyes met hers.

“Right.” He acknowledged, genuinely. “… Both of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> This takes canon into account where Will and El don't appear to be close at all or know much about each other. So, I've crafted this awkward first step into their new siblinghood! It's a very rocky start for them, but they can make it work. It's a drabble and it's not very linear. My apologies!


End file.
